Logitech G700 Review

Logitech G700 Review

In the gaming mouse arms race it’s been a while since Logitech has rolled out a new super-weapon with which to frag your competition. Barring the G9, Logitech has used the same tried and tested design for its gaming mice since 2002 when the legendary MX 500 was first released. While the G700 is a new design for Logitech, it's still recognisable as a Logitech mouse. We wanted to take this wireless gaming mouse for a spin and see if the new shape and features added up.

The biggest change is that the G700 is able to work in either wired or wireless modes in a similar fashion to Razer’s Mamba. The separate wireless receiver is tiny and once fitted into any rarely used USB 2 port instantly connects the mouse. There's a power switch on the bottom of the mosue to save battery power.

If you’d rather run the G700 wired, or need to the charge the mouse, then it’s a simple task to connect the (predictably proprietary) USB cable into the slot hidden beneath the primary mouse buttons. The G700 supports both data and power over USB, so plugging the cable in automatically disables the wireless link.

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While this system sounds great, it's ruined by dreadful wireless performance which maked the G700 horrid to use sans data cable. While the sensitivity and tracking speed were fine, in wireless mode the G700 failed to pick up very small movements, resulting in infuriating mouse pointer jumps and very poor fine movement control. We experienced this flaw using multiple systems, under all three of the mouse’s power management modes and both with and without Logitech’s software installed. This makes the G700 useless as a wireless mouse.

Plug the cable in, and the G700 became a whole different squeaker. Accuracy was first rate, tracking even the smallest movements flawlessly. Through three selectable profiles and five adjustable levels of sensitivity the G700 allows you to switch between a massive 15 different sensitivity modes on the fly and supports auto mode switching for games too. However, thanks to the added weight of the rechargeable AA battery hidden inside, the G700 is a fair bit heavier than your typical gaming mouse, with a high centre arch to compensate for the added internal electronics and battery cavity.

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The G700 also packs a fair few more buttons than you’d expect from mouse, with 13 programmable buttons (including horizontal scrolling). These include a cluster of four slim thumb buttons in place of the usual two, and a cluster of three uniquely shaped buttons to the left of the left main button. These are used primarily for switching between the modes (or game profiles) of the mouse, and so aren't used regularly.

Only the two extra thumb buttons are really of any use then, and these felt unnatural to use. The way that you can set the scrollwheel to free-wheel or have stepped scrolling is handy, though is a feature present in many current Logitech mice.

Conclusion

Despite hoping for something special, we came away from our time with the G700 supremely disappointed. When connected via its data and charging cable the G700 performed very well and did a fine job of fragging our opposition in comfort and style. This is despite the mouse being a little heavier and larger thanks to the AA battery and extra circuitry inside.

Switching to wireless mode - the G700’s key feature and a major factor in its relatively high price - and the G700 is impossible to live with. The fine movement sensitivity is shockingly poor, making the mouse useless for gaming when in wireless mode. Even something as everyday as selecting text in Office became an infuriating challenge as we found ourselves cursing it to “select that full stop damn-it!”

We contacted Logitech regarding the issue of the small movement sensitivity, but it didn't manage to provide any more information than is on the complaint thread on its forums. However, as the G700 is a product on sale, and there's no confirmed date for the fix, we can only recommend that you steer well clear of it for now at least.